Broken Rage

Can't believe this got shadow-dropped onto Prime a few days ago and I'm only just learning about its release now 😭... Takeshi Kitano may be in his twilight years but that's not stopping him from doing what he loves and doing it well, with Broken Rage he paints a rollicking self-portrait of himself; an artist rethinking his relationship with the medium he's mastered and having a decidedly grand time in the process. It's a remarkably clever tactic to initially convey your story one way, only to backpedal in the second half and present it in a completely different style; it's a move that massively pays off and delivers some prime Kitano hilarity; tackling the two genres he's always been most known for, starting from a drier deadpan before rebooting into unbridled absurdity, a concise lesson in parody, creating a simple form and then breaking it with the subtle force of a sledgehammer through wood on a nail bed. In many ways, it can be seen as Kitano mocking the current filmmaking climate we live in, poking holes in everything and everyone he can, a perfect amalgamation of his works distilled into a crisp 66-minute runtime. It is a significant departure from traditional storytelling, that pays off tenfold in many ways with Broken Rage adhering to the two most significant adages in show business: always leave them laughing and wanting more; it's utterly hilarious, Kitano knows it and embraces it delivering both a love letter to himself and his fans while also ridiculing both.

For two decades, the directorial career of Takeshi Kitano has been in gradual decline - most notable for the greater-than-its-parts "Outrage" trilogy and some self-effacing comedies that failed to leave much lasting impression. "Broken Rage", his latest, sits somewhere between the two, mixing cops v yakuza power struggles with an innate desire to poke fun at himself, in a film with the self-aware randomness of "Getting Any?" (1994).

'Mouse' ('Beat' Takeshi, as ever) is an ageing man who frequents a coffee shop to collect orders and payments from the faceless 'M' for yakuza hits. Efficient and unassuming, he is successful, but is caught by the police, who agree to strike a deal with him to bring in the yakuza head.

The scenario then plays out again, only this time, where Mouse was good at his work, he is now a bumbling idiot, prone to slapstick errors and miscalculations. From here on in, the cool of the first half becomes a stream of quick-fire visual gags and blunder, as Kitano once again plays with the dualities of his inner mind.

"Broken Rage" feels like a better execution of Kitano's ambitious, but flawed, "Takeshis'" (2005), where the violent director and actor is contrasted by an everyday failure. Though this never gets too serious. It is very much latter-day Kitano, with the aesthetic of "Outrage", in a quite dull and colourless world. Shinya Kiyozuka's soundtrack is playful, however, and dances across the scenes, though again reflects that Kitano hasn't been the same since moving away from working with Joe Hisaishi.

But first and foremost, this is fun, and the cast of Kitano's old friends all join in with glee. Takeshi's face is perfect for deadpan humour, meeting absurdity with a stoney face. Tadanobu Asano and Nao Omori play the detective duo putting Mouse up to undercover work, and play it with an air of fun that both are easily capable of. There are also some trademark Kitano cut-aways, but largely its visual gags and silliness.

Short and sweet, there's a feel that Kitano made this purely because he felt like it, and everyone was up for joining in. But where previously, the likes of "Getting Any?" and "Glory to the Filmmaker" (2007) were self-indulgent, with jokes purely for Kitano's own ends, here we feel a bit more in on the gag, with better execution.

Kitano certainly isn't the arthouse director of the Nineties anymore, and that doesn't hang over "Broken Rage" as much as previous efforts. For two decades, he'd been on the decline, but that feels to be accepted now, and so he is free of the shackles of his early career. Not for art, not for violence, not for self-indulgence, just for a bit of entertainment.

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This is nothing special in the style of kitano, its like a small closed ecosystem, more like an experiment, or a flying idea he had and wanted to make. Takeshi always has been a comedian first, this movie is another attempt at making a comedy film mixed with yakuza elements, whats interesting about this is the small scale of everything, feels like just a random idea that he created, to me that takes away a little bit of the enjoyment because it kinda makes you want something more, if you enjoyed this id recomend Getting any, Takeshis and Glory to the filmmaker, wich i think are his masterpieces, now that this proyect is done i really wish to see more kitano and bigger proyects.

I won't say I was disgusted by this movie, some kind of experimental one, but deceived, yes, certainly. We find here many elements of Takeshi Kitano's world, spirit, atmosphere, but the story puzzled me too much, and there was too much humor. I highly prefered the previous yakuza or crime films - not necessarily Yakuza - of this famous actor and director from Japan. It is only one hour long, and that's a pretty good thing. I won't recommend it to Takeshi Kitano's fans, because I guess many of them will be deceived. But if you closely check his former films, his filmography, you'll notice that there were some light hearted features too. But here, the mix up between crime and comedy disappoints me.

Takeshi Kitano has never played by the rules- unless it's just so he can break them. Ever since his directorial debut 'Violent Cop', he's been defying expectations, twisting genre conventions and reinventing himself with every film. From the melancholic brutality of 'Sonatine' and 'Hana-bi' to the quiet poetry of both 'A Scene at the Sea' and 'Kikujiro', as well as the sharp-edged chaos of his 'Outrage' trilogy, Kitano is a truly unpredictable force in cinema.

'Broken Rage,' his 21st project as director, is as enigmatic and offbeat as the man himself. It is a film of two halves- quite literally. The first half follows stoic hitman Mouse, who becomes embroiled in a plot to bring down a powerful Yakuza family. The second tells the exact same story, except Mouse is now a bumbling, fumbling disaster on legs.

A self-referential piece- much like 'Takeshis'', 'Glory to the Filmmaker' and 'Achilles & The Tortoise'- it playfully satirises the polar opposites of Kitano's career: the deadly serious and the absurdly comedic. The first half, played straight, can also be seen as a parody of Yakuza films, revelling in the clichés of the genre- stoic hitmen, shadowy alliances and betrayals. It's a greatest-hits reel of genre tropes, inviting viewers to laugh at the melodrama we've been conditioned to take seriously.

The film's second half is a frenzied festival of comedic chaos, full of pratfalls, visual gags and the occasional collapse of everything. Mouse's hits devolve into slapstick ballets, and no piece of furniture is safe from the weight of his carriage. Fans of Kitano's wackier works, like 'Getting Any', will feel right at home, though slapstick sceptics may find the humour more hit-and-miss.

However, while intermittently entertaining, the film as a whole doesn't really come together. The first half is too weighed down by the clichés it aims to satirize, while the light-hearted second half- though far more engaging- remains rather uneven. Additionally, some scenes in both halves drag- a shame, as at 62 minutes, it is not a lengthy film by any means.

Having said that, it features some great moments. The first half has some very strikingly shot scenes of assassination, while the second features a brilliantly madcap interrogation scene that is as wild as it is wonderful. There are also intertitles throughout that play as if they were snarky messages from the audience- all of which are negative, and most of which are hilarious. In fact, that running gag may be the film's sharpest.

Additionally, it is well-shot by Takeshi Hamada, who also served as cinematographer on Kitano's 'Kubi.' Here, he largely avoids flashy stylizations, creating a cool, cold world for Mouse to navigate. In the first half, Hamada's stark compositions echo the film's homage to gritty, no-nonsense yakuza dramas, emphasizing the sombre inevitability of violence. In the second half, those same cool, controlled visuals serve as a deadpan counterpoint to the chaotic comedy unfolding on screen. It's a clever juxtaposition, quietly underscoring the absurdity at the film's heart.

Moreover, Shin'ya Kiyozuka's score adds yet another layer, feeling like a playful nod to Kitano's past collaborations with the likes of Joe Hisaishi, Shinichirô Ikebe and Keiichi Suzuki. While Kiyozuka's score maintains its own character, it shares their melodic, atmospheric style- a resemblance that feels intentional. This subtle similarity becomes another layer of self-referential humour, as though Kitano is poking fun at his own legacy, not just through narrative and visuals, but through sound as well. It's another reminder that 'Broken Rage' isn't just a film- it's Kitano reflecting, refracting and laughing at his own career.

Kitano's central performance as Mouse is another standout element. He seamlessly toggles between menacing stoicism and bumbling hilarity, embodying the film's thematic split. It's as though he's parodying his own career, oscillating between the enigmatic auteur and the playful comedian we've come to know. His supporting cast also do fine work, particularly semi-regular collaborators Tadanobu Asano and Nao Ômori.

Although 'Broken Rage' may not reach the heights of Takeshi Kitano's best films, it is entertaining, and showcases his singular vision. Ultimately, it feels less like a cohesive film and more like a cinematic Rorschach test: what you see in it might depend on how you view Kitano himself. Is he a brilliant provocateur, poking fun at his own legacy while delivering a wild ride? Or is he simply indulging in his quirkiest impulses without worrying too much about coherence? Either way, 'Broken Rage' is pure Kitano, and love it or not, there's no one else quite like its director.